I Hope You're as Happy as You're Pretending

CHAPTER NINE: I Want You to Know that I'm Happy for You
February 12, 2011 - Boise, ID
Jorel and I walked through the hospital, peering into every room that they had in their maternity ward. We hadn’t come across Kristie or George yet, but we had pretended to be a lot of long-lost relatives and had seen a few cute and a lot more uglier ones. I was surprised at how into Jorel had been after I had fooled the first woman.

“Hey, I found them,” Jorel called, from a few doors ahead of me. He gave me a ‘come here’ hand wave, as he walked inside the room. I hurried toward the door he had walked into, and saw George and Jorel standing over the plastic container that the baby was held in. Kristie was asleep, on her side, on the bed.

“George, what’d you do to Kristie?” He looked away from his child, and then to me, and then to Kristie. He smiled at the sight of her and looked back toward me. “You kill her?”

“Nah,” he answered. “My wife is a hardass.” I nodded my head. “Come see my boy.” He picked him out of the bassinet, and brought him toward me. I couldn’t help but smile; he was beaming about his new son.

“He’s adorable,” I smiled, taking him from George. “Hi baby Georgey.” I looked up at George. “He looks just like you.” George gave me a big grin.

“Yeah, and Kristie was worried that he was going to have her big nose.” Jorel and George both laughed, and I rolled my eyes. “Well, it is kind of big for his face. I’m hoping he grows into it.” I rolled my eyes once more. The way that Kristie and George nitpicked at each other would drive anyone crazy. I couldn’t believe that I was standing here, holding their child. No one would have ever thought they would make it this far because of how they acted toward each other, but here they were, referring to each other as husband and wife with a baby to take care of now.

“Don’t say that, George. That’s not nice.” I looked over toward Kristie’s sleeping form for a minute, and then back to George. “Is she coming back? As like, a tour manager?” George shook his head and looked toward her, still laying on the bed. The look in his eyes for her made me want something more. Wether it was with Jorel or not, I wanted something more. I deserved something more than what he was giving me. Than anyone had given me.

“No, not right away. I don’t know if I even want her to come back,” he admitted. “It’d be so much easier to decide this if she didn’t mean so much to the band, you know?” He looked back in my direction. “They all like her, and get along with her, and she does a lot of crap that no one else does.”

“We all like Jessi,” Jorel spoke up, and George and I both looked in his direction. “She’s been doing just fine. No one has any complaints about her. She’s doing a great job.” I glared at Jorel for talking about me, as if I wasn’t standing right here. He gave me a simple smiled, and I huffed.

“No one is taking my fucking job. Now, fucking take George and get the fuck out. You’re disturbing my sleep and there’s a show that has to be preformed.” We all looked back toward Kristie, who was glaring at each of us. “Give me Jordan and go!” The baby began to wiggle in my arms, and I looked down at him, seeing that he was about to start crying from Kristie’s outburst. George took him from my arms as his cry began to erupt from his mouth.

“Its okay, Jordan,” he cooed at the baby, gentle rocking him against his chest, as he walked him toward Kristie. “Stop crying.” He had Jordan quite again, before handing him over to Kristie. “You promise me you’re going to go to my house?” She gave him a nod. “Alright, go,” he told us, shooing Jorel and I out of the room. I sighed, and Jorel came up to me, holding out his hand in my direction. “I’ll be right out.” I sighed, taking Jorel’s hand, and allowing him to lead me out of the room.

“So, what’s up?” He asked me, as I leaned against the wall of the hallway of the hospital, awaiting George, so we could get back to Kennewick. “What are you going to do after the tour is over?” I shrugged at him.

“Don’t know. You have plans for me, Decker?” He gave me a large grin.

“Could stay with me.” I rolled my eyes. I was not going to put myself in that situation with me. I deserved so much better, and I didn’t want to hold myself back from that. I didn’t want to go with Jorel, and yet, I couldn’t resist the urge to say yes, but I knew that I had to.

“I’ll probably go home.” He frowned at me. “What, Jorel?”

“I was being serious.”

“I can tell. What did you want me to do if I were to move in with you?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“Hang out until the next tour. You’re coming.” I sighed, watching George come out of the room behind Jorel, and giving me a come-on wave. He was quick on his feet, and I sighed.

“Let’s go,” he added, as he began to head down the hallway.

“Maybe, take the keys. Let me say hi to Kristie for a second, and you go see what’s bothering George.” I handed the keys over to him, and brushed past him, walking into the room. I closed the door behind me, and looked toward Kristie, who was looking at me. “Thought you were leaving.” She was glaring at me.

“You and George fight?” I questioned, pulling one of the chairs that were sitting against the wall, toward the bed. She still had Jordan in her arms. She shook her head at me.

“No, why?” I took a seat in the chair, at the foot of the bed.

“He just seemed upset when he left.” She shrugged her shoulders, but shook her head. She would know him better than anyone else.

“Just being himself. What’s going on?”

“Jorel asked me to stay with him between tour.” She grinned, and set her hand over her mouth, trying to hold in her laugh. I sighed. “Don’t laugh at me.”

“Its Jorel. You can stay with Three Tears and I, if you want. Get to know him before you jump in bed with that shit too many times. He’ll hit it twice, and then he’s gone.”

“He hit this twice.” She threw one of her hands in the air.

“Bro! Bro. Why would you do that, bro?”

“Because he’s fucking banging!” She laughed.

“He is, but you know what? He doesn’t give a fuck about you or anyone else. he only cares about himself. If you want him to care about you, then make him fucking care.”

“I guess,” I sighed, and she looked down at the phone that was vibrating on the bed beside her.

“You better get going. George and Jorel need to get to their show.” She picked it up, and showed the phone in my direction. It was Jorel, and it told her to tell me to hurry up. “I’ll see you in what? Five days?” I nodded.

“Yeah,” I answered, pushing myself out of my chair. I went toward her, and gave her a hug, which she returned with one arm. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

“Yes,” she answered, as I began to walk toward the door. “And stop fucking Jorel! Could end up alone and pregnant. Just like me.” I stopped at the door, and turned back toward her, seeing that she was looking down at her newborn boy.

“Oh stop it, George adores you.” She looked up toward me, a large smile on her face.

“I know. Just go. Make Jorel want to court you!”

“Court, really?” She gave me a quick glare.

“Bro, shut the fuck up and get out.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” She waved me off, and I went through the door, again closing it tightly behind me. Jorel was running through the hall.

“Let’s mother fucking go!”

“I’m coming, Jorel! Just wanted to say goodbye to my best friend for a bit.” He reached out for my hand, and I sighed, giving it to him.

“Well, come say hi to me.” He gave me a large smile.

“I’m here, ain’t I? We better hurry up before George shows his ass.” Jorel nodded, in agreement, and we hurried our way through the hospital to meet George.